Farmer awareness | Cost, not threat of accidents, important, says official
OTTAWA — Emotion can change behaviour, a broadcaster recently told those involved with farm safety.
Terry O’Reilly, author and host of CBC’s Under the Influence, spoke about effective ways to communicate safety messages to the farm community during the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association’s annual conference held in Ottawa Oct. 7-9.
“People have to feel the message before they will act on it,” he said.
“Make the farmer feel your message, emotion can overcome resistance,” he said, noting the high number of farmers who don’t have a written safety plan on their farms.
Read Also
Agi3’s AI-powered individualized farm insurance products win innovation prize
Agi3’s AI-powered individualized farm insurance products won the business solutions prize in the Innovations Program Awards prior to the Agriculture in Motion farm show in Langham, Saskatchewan.
He said messages have to stand apart from the proliferation of advertising in today’s mass media and must tell a story.
“Stories make people feel something,” said O’Reilly.
“A great story is not just information. A good story is aimed at not the head, but the heart.”
Messages also have to be presented at opportune times in an unexpected way to get people’s attention.
He cited a radio ad for organ donations as an example. The ad asks people to turn to their loved ones during the few seconds of dead air to tell them if they want to donate their organs after they die.
“It’s a simple emotional message at the right time, right place with the right trigger to persuade them to act,” said O’Reilly.
“People respond with interest when something is interesting.”
Henry Vissers, executive director of the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture, called farm safety messages depicting serious accidents a turnoff.
“They can’t relate it to their own situation, they haven’t had that accident and try to push it aside and not think about it,” he said.
Vissers said the goal is not to frighten but to draw attention to the cost of farm accidents to the farm operation.
Ian Pike, director of The Community Against Preventable Injuries, detailed his work with groups and businesses focused on raising awareness about safety and changing people’s behaviour in British Columbia.
“People know how to be safe, they don’t need to be lectured, they just need to be reminded,” he said.
Studies showed a 10 percent shift in behaviour in its first three years of the Preventable program, which was launched in 2006. They also found a 50 percent recognition rate for the safety message: “have a word with yourself.”
Significant changes in behaviour were reported among ages 25 to 35 and a smaller number among those younger than 25.
The campaign, which includes social media, internet and primetime advertising, depicts situations involving a distracted driver or relates how no one wakes up expecting to drown that day.
Pike said the message is to take a breath and have a word with yourself.
He said agricultural applications could start with, “you’re probably not expecting to roll over today,” “if you think getting pinned or entangled only happens to others” or “if you think it’s safe for kids to play in a farmyard,” and then end with, “have a word with yourself.”
